Slovak Police arrest Czech citizen and two Slovak citizens on suspicion of extremism

27.6.2019 10:33

An item confiscated by customs officials at the Slovak-Ukrainian border. The t-shirt reads, in German, "Martyrs of Nibelung Loyalty", which is the concept of absolute, unquestioning, excessive and potentially disastrous loyalty to a cause or person. The usage here is probably not meant ironically.

At the airport in Bratislava on 25 June, Slovak Police arrested a Czech citizen and two Slovak citizens who arrived there from Ukraine because they found extremist materials on them. Police announced the arrest on their Facebook profile and published photographs of the confiscated clothing with neo-Nazi themes.

"Members of the National Criminal Investigation Agency in collaboration with the customs administration arrested two Slovaks and one Czech at the Bratislava airport after their arrival from Kyiv on suspicion of extremist criminal activity," the police posted. Among the confiscated clothing items were, for example, tank tops and t-shirts reading "Swastika" or "Division 44", where the two "4"s symbolize the abbreviation of the Nazi Protection Squadron, the "SS".

Immediately after the news was announced, Slovak-language Internet users began to post jokes about the arrest, making light of extremism and speaking in xenophobic terms, including verbally attacking Romani people. One example is as follows: "The fact that they import a few rags is extremism, but when a gypsy threatens you, that's fine ..."